RCR Sprint Cup Series Preview for Richmond International Raceway

RCR in Richmond ... Richard Childress has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories as a car owner at Richmond International Raceway - five with Dale Earnhardt, two with Kevin Harvick and one with Clint Bowyer. Additionally, in 135 starts at the Richmond, Va.-based track, RCR drivers have claimed 33 top-five and 62 top-10 finishes at RIR. Childress, a former driver on NASCAR's senior circuit, contributed three of those top-10 finishes from 1976-1978. The Welcome, N.C.-based organization holds a 17.3 average starting position, a 14.8 average finishing position, has completed 50,888 of the 53,904 contested laps (94.4 percent) and has collectively led 3,239 laps around the 0.75-mile race track.

RCR in the NSCS ... In 2,297 Sprint Cup Series starts dating back to 1969, RCR has amassed 101 wins, 42 pole awards, 435 top-five finishes and 916 top-10 finishes, with an average starting position of 17.9 and an average finishing position of 15.8. RCR has earned 14 total championships (six Sprint Cup Series championships with Earnhardt in 1986, '87, '90,'91, '93 and '94, five NASCAR Nationwide Series titles, two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series titles and one ARCA Racing Series title) and was the first organization to win titles in NASCAR's three national series.

RCR Kansas Rewind ... In the Sprint Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway last weekend, Paul Menard scored his fourth top-10 finish of the season (10th) while RCR teammates Harvick and Jeff Burton finished 12th and 18th, respectively.
The Collective RCR ... Throughout the season's first eight races, RCR's Sprint Cup Series entries have notched six top-10 finishes and completed 7,705 of 7,952 total laps (97 percent) with drivers Burton, Austin Dillon, Harvick and Menard. RCR's three full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers rank 10th (Menard), 12th (Harvick) and 23rd (Burton) in the driver championship point standings.

Catch the Action ... Live coverage of the Richmond 400 at Richmond International Raceway will be televised on FOX Saturday, April 27, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and will also be broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week's CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet ... Paul Menard will pilot chassis No. 419 at Richmond International Raceway. This No. 27 Chevrolet SS was previously run this season at Martinsville Speedway.

Richmond Stats ... Menard has 12 starts at Richmond International Raceway. His best start of seventh came in 2010 and best finish of 13th came in 2012. The Wisconsin native has completed 4,689 of 4,810 laps attempted (97.5 percent) at the Virginia track, leading one of them.

About CertainTeed ... CertainTeed Corporation is a leading North American manufacturer of building materials including roofing, vinyl and fiber cement siding, trim, fence, railing, decking, foundations, insulation, gypsum, ceilings, and pipe products. Headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, CertainTeed has approximately 6,000 employees and 65 facilities throughout the United States and Canada. CertainTeed is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the top 100 industrial companies in the world. Saint-Gobain employs approximately 19,000 people in North America and approximately 109,000 people in 64 countries world-wide. Saint-Gobain's North American companies operate 130 manufacturing facilities in industries as diverse as industrial ceramics and containers, reinforcements and flat glass, abrasives, and building materials. For more information, please visit www.certainteed.com.

Autograph Time ... Menard will participate in an autograph session at Richmond International Raceway in the amphitheater located next to the Commonwealth Mall at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, April, 27. Fans must have a wristband to participate. The first 200 fans in line at the Virginia 529 College Saving Plan display in the midway on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET (with a Saturday race ticket) will receive a wristband.

Fast Fact ... Menard has four top-10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finishes in 2013 and has completed 100 percent of laps attempted (2,584) this year.

Race Rewind ... Starting 31st, Menard finished 13th in last spring's 400-lap race at Richmond International Raceway, marking his best finish to-date at the .75-mile track.

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
Menard's Thoughts on Racing at Richmond International Raceway: "Racing at Richmond (International Raceway) is significant because when we go back there in the fall it's the last race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. We want to do well and learn all we can this weekend, so we can take that knowledge and apply it to the fall race. Richmond is uniquely shaped so, as a driver, I've got to approach both ends of the track differently. It is shaped like a 'D,' and there is a really big arch going into turn one. Turn three is almost like a Martinsville (Speedway) turn. It has a really sharp entrance and it's not very open. On exit, it opens back up with the 'D' shape. Hopefully we can keep our fenders clean this weekend and come home with another top-10 finish."

This Week's Bell Helicopter Chevrolet at Richmond International Raceway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 420 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Richmond 400. This Chevrolet is new to the rotation this season and made its first appearance at Martinsville Speedway in April, where Harvick finished 13th.

RIR Stats ... Harvick will make his 25th Sprint Cup Series start at the 0.75-mile facility Saturday evening. Through the years, the California native has collected two wins (September 2006 and September 2011), one pole award (September 2005), six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Harvick maintains an average start of 16.5 coupled with an 11.7 average finishing position, has completed 98.8 percent (9,486 of 9,603) laps contested and led 942 laps at the Virginia-based facility.
Bell Helicopter ... Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

Double Duty ... In addition to driving the No. 29 Bell Helicopter Chevrolet SS in Saturday night's race, Harvick will pilot the No. 33 Hungry-Man Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event on Friday evening. This race is scheduled to air live on ESPNEWS at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, along with the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Champion Chat ... Harvick will participate in his monthly Champion Chat on Tuesday, April 23, at 7 p.m. ET answering fan questions via Twitter and TweetChat.com. To ask a question, simply log on to TweetChat.com or Federal-Mogul's @ChampionParts Twitter feed and add the #ChampionChat hashtag to the end of each tweet. Harvick's video "Touts" will be available through the @ChampionParts Twitter feed as well as www.Tout.com (search for "#TeamChampion").

2012 Race Rewind ... Harvick and the No. 29 team finished 19th during last year's Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway, after battling an unfavorable handling race car for the majority of the 400-lap event.

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
Richmond International Raceway is the second short-track race of the season, what are your thoughts heading into this race? "Richmond has been a great race track for us through the years. It's always fun to go there and do a little short-track racing, I really enjoy the style of racing that Richmond International Raceway produces. I'm definitely looking forward to getting back in the car there to see what kind of result we can walk away with."

Short-track racing produces a lot of bumping and banging. How much can you do with the Gen-6 car? "Not much. You want to bump and bang, but the bottom line is you don't want to tear the fenders off the car so aerodynamically the car works like it needs to. You can definitely get a few bumps and dings in the fenders, but you don't want to be tearing it up too much."

This week's No. 31 Airgas/Bulwark Chevrolet SS at Richmond International Raceway... Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 329 this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. This No. 31 Chevrolet was utilized twice during the 2012 season at both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) events at Martinsville Speedway.

Career Richmond Stats ... Burton grew up two hours away from the Richmond, Va.-based facility in South Boston, Va. Saturday's event marks Burton's 38th start at the .75-mile facility and 664th-career NSCS start. He has amassed one win (1998), one pole award (2000), nine top-five and 16 top-10 finishes at the historic track.

No Stranger to Victory Lane ... Burton has made three trips to Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway, winning the NSCS event in September 1998 and NASCAR Nationwide Series races in June 1998 and September 2000.

About Bulwark ...Bulwark is the North American market leader in durable flame resistant protective garments. We were born in the Canadian oilfields 42 years ago, and have been the choice of industry professionals ever since. We offer the widest assortment of flame resistant shirts, pants, jeans, coveralls and outerwear in the industry. Our clothing is made with an obsessive diligence for precision and quality because what we do saves lives. We are part of VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel. For more information, please visit www.bulwark.com.

About Airgas ... Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), through its subsidiaries, is one of the nation's leading suppliers of industrial, medical and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and related products. Airgas is a leading U.S. producer of atmospheric gases with 16 air separation plants, a leading producer of carbon dioxide, dry ice, and nitrous oxide, one of the largest U.S. suppliers of safety products, and a leading U.S. supplier of refrigerants, ammonia products, and process chemicals. More than 15,000 employees work in approximately 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also markets its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information, please visit www.airgas.com.

Sign Here Please ... Burton will be signing autographs with fellow NSCS drivers Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Joey Logano, Bobby Labonte and Paul Menard in the Richmond International Raceway (RIR) Amphitheater (located next to the Commonwealth Mall) on Saturday, Apr. 27 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Wristbands are required for an autograph and can be picked up Saturday starting at 10 a.m. ET at the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan display in the RIR fan display area. The first 200 fans with a Saturday race ticket receive a wristband.

Race Rewind 2012 ... An on-track incident on lap 310 knocked Burton and the No. 31 Chevrolet team out of contention for a top-15 run in the 2012 Capital City 400, relegating them to a 31st-place finish at Richmond International Raceway.

JEFF BURTON QUOTE:
What are your thoughts heading into Richmond International Raceway this weekend? "Richmond (International Raceway) is truly one of my favorite race tracks. It's a fun time of the year and the weather is warmer. I think Richmond is the perfect size race track. It's both big enough and small enough to produce good races. One thing we haven't seen lately is the top groove come in. Most competitors are finding speed at the bottom of the race track. Hopefully, that top groove will come in. If it does, that will make the racing even better than it already is. I always look forward to going to Richmond